I practice Integrative Medicine…period.
I’m not an ‘alternate/alternative’…whatever. So, what is Integrative Medicine?
Dr. Andrew Weil summed it up quite succinctly in his 2014 edition of Self Healing. I’ll give you the doctor’s 8 points on what defines Integrative Medicine:
1. The patient and practitioner form a partnership in the healing process.
2. All factors that take in the total wellness of the patient are considered (diet, exercise, stress, medications, lifestyle).
3. There is a marriage of/and appropriate use of both western and eastern modalities for the most effective treatment to restore the patient’s health.
4. Effective interventions with minimally invasive therapies should be applied when appropriate to affect healing.
5. Integrative Medicine neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts unconventional therapies uncritically.
6. Good medicine is based on good science. It is inquiry-driven and based on new paradigms.
7. Broader concepts of health promotion and prevention are stressed with treatments.
8. Practitioners of Integrative Medicine should commit themselves to continued education, exploration and development.
Thank you, Dr. Weil, for this simple summary of principles. Your integrative medical practitioner should be well versed in all of the above. He or she should be fairly knowledgeable of common surgeries, medications, treatment protocols and procedures practiced in western medicine and know how to INTEGRATE Traditional Chinese Medicine to obtain a synergistic and positive result when treating a patient.
I agree. I’m an internist in NJ who believes in integrative medicine and incorporate it into my practice. Look forward to more posts
Agree. I’m an internist in NJ who incorporates integrative medicine in my practice. Look forward to more posts